Compartmented switch box with a terminal board and bus bars mounted on opposite sides of the partition



Sept. 21, 1965 F, .VON HOORN 3,207,955

COMPARTM TED S I CH BOX WITH A TERMINAL BOARD AND BARS MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PARTITION Filed March 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet l "1 M "my. a I V fifi; 1 11 llllll ll WWMIIII/ M M II!! M (a /9 III w/ "k l Inventor'- Fred G. von Hoorn 2 3 4%? @MMWL His Attorney Sept. 21, 1965 F. G. VON HOORN 3,207,955

COMPAR'IMENTED SWITCH BOX WITH A TERMINAL BOARD AND BUS BARS MOUNTED 0N OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PARTITION Filed March 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 3'6. 3. WW, 1..l!HHW!U,,...g WW

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Sept. 21, 1965 F. G. VON HOORN 3,207,955

COMPARTMENTED SWITCH BOX WITH A TERMINAL BOARD AND BUS BARS MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PARTITION Filed March 6, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ihventor- Fred G. V0h Hoorn y MM/% /ulir z His Aflorneu Sept. 21, 1965 F. G. VON HOORN 3,207,955

COMPARTMENTED SWITCH BOX WITH A TERMINAL BOARD AND BUS BARS MOUNTED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PARTITION 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 6, 1962 /77V/7 f- 060 6. web/90a;

4] 44M 1. @WXM United States Patent Office Patented Sept. 21, 1965 COMPARTMENTED SWITCH BOX WITH A TERMI- NAL BOARD AND BUS BARS MOUNTED N OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PARTITION Fred G. von Hoorn, Warwick, RJL, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 6, 1962, Ser. No. 177,850 2 Claims. (Cl. 317-113) .tioned in a box located near the electrical service entrance equipment. The National Electrical Code requires that there be a partition at all times between high-voltage conductors and low-voltage conductors. Since one end of a remote control relay performs the high-voltage function while the other end is subject to low-voltage control, these relays are considered as having a high-voltage end and a low-voltage end. The relays are customarily located on a voltage-dividing bracket or partition which has a number of apertures therein which allow the low-voltage end of a relay to be passed there-through. Each relay :has at least three control wires leading to the low-voltage end and two power conductors connected at the highvoltage end. A typical relay box has eight to twelve relays therein and it is not unusual to have as many as 24 relays in a box. Thus, each box has an enormous wire *mass which makes it very difficult to dis-connect, remove,

and replace relays during servicing operations.

An object of the present invention is to provide a relay switch box in" which the relays will be positioned for easy servicing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relay switch box-in which the wiring can be reduced in length to a minimum and arranged in an orderly fashion allowing ready access to the relays.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relay mounting bracket which serves to partition the highvoltage leads from the low-voltage leads and yet provides for easy removal of relays.

A further object of the invention is to provide a relay mounting bracket which includes a terminal board on the low-voltage side and-spaced bus bars on the highvoltage side.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification considered in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein FIG. 1 is a broken perspective view of a relay mounting bracket as seen from the low-voltage side;

FIG. 2 is a broken perspective view of the relay mount ing bracket of FIG. 1 as seen from the high-voltage side;

FIG. 3 is a plan or layout View of a box containing the brackets of this invention, the cover being removed;

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the box of FIG. 3 with the side of the box removed;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a terminal board used for low-voltage control wires;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of terminal board and clip showing the method of establishing contact between control wires through the clip;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a spring clip;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the lines 9-9 of FIG. 2 illustrating the structure of a bus bar mounting post;

FIG. 10 illustrates a plug-in type of relay especially developed for mounting on bus bars; and

FIG. 11 shows the underside of the terminal board illustrated in plan view in FIG. 5.

Brieflly stated, in accordance with one of its aspects, this'invention is directed to a remote control wiring system switch box in which there is a relay mounting bracket comprising a sheet metal partition dividing the box into at least two compartments, the sheet metal partition having an intermediate surface on a slant with respect to the front and back of the box. This intermediate surface defines a plurality of apertures through which the low-voltage side of a remote control relay may be inserted.

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a box 10 of conventional sheet metal construction used in electrical installations has a pair of relay brackets 11 mounted therein by means of mounting screws 12.

The mounting brackets 11 consist of three principal longitudinal sections-a base section 13, an intermediate section 14, and a top section 15. An important aspect of this invention lies in the fact that the intermediate section 14 of the bracket 11 is slanted, preferably at an angle of about 45, with respect to the back and cover (not show-n) of the box 10. The lengthwise portions of the sections 13 and 15 adjacent the slanted intermediate portion 14 are preferably substantially parallel to each other. The slanted intermediate portion 14 has a plurality of spaced openings 16 providing a snug passage for the lowvoltage end of a remote control relay 17. On the highvoltage side of the intermediate section 14 there is an insulating liner 18 of fibrous material which includes knockouts 19 in alignment with the openings 16.

The relay mounting bracket 11 as described above is .complete and usable. By virtue of having the intermediate section 14 at about a 45 slant, relays may be readily installed or removed. The high-voltage conductors are exposed and easily accesible. The low-voltage control conductors are not exposed but since control conductors are small and quite flexible, it is an easy matter to bend them around to an exposed position. Since they are colorcoded, there is no danger of confusion with regard to control wire connections.

The low-voltage side of the mounting bracket 11 is desirably provided with a wire guide 21 or a terminal board 22 as best shown in FIG. 3. Both the wire guide 21 and terminal board 22 are composed of insulating material and are fastened to the mounting bracket 11 by screws or rivets. The terminal board 22, as best illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 11 includes a plurality of spaced square apertures 23 some of which are multipled together by a metal contact strip 24 (FIG. 11). Each aperture seats a U-shaped spring clip 25 which has forked tips 26 immediately adjacent a narrowed neck portion 27 which is the part of the clip seated in the apertures 23. Neck portion 27 is formed between the inwardly extending shoulders of the clip 25 and the outwardly extending forked tips. As best shown in FIG. 7, the end of a control wire 28 from which the insulation has been removed, may be inserted between the forked tips 26 of the clip 25 when the clip is manually compressed to leave a small clearance between the neck portion 27 and the aperture wall 23. FIG. 5 illustrates the circuit through the terminal board 22 when a pushbutton 29 is manually operated to close a circuit through the relay 17. As may be seen by reference to FIG. 5, a number of control wires may be connected to these multipled-together terminals as shown in FIG. 5. The operating circuit for the relay 17 of FIG. 5 then runs from supply lead 32 through the I age.

common connection of the manual switch 29, through the switch 29 to one of the relay control wires, through the relay 17 to the common lead, and through this lead via the terminal board 22 to the supply lead 31. I

A desirable addition to the high-voltage side of the mounting bracket 11 is a pair of parallel bus bars 33 and 34 (FIG. 2) maintained in position by end supports 35 mounted upon the intermediate section 14 of the bracket 11 by a screw 36 or a rivet. For protection against accidental shocks the bus bars 33 and 34 are insulated but the insulation is removed at spaced intervals to expose the bar as shown at 37 in FIG. 2. The end supports 35 have an interior cavity into which the bus bars 33 and 34 lead.

Adjacent to each bus bar in the cavity of the support 35 is a spring locking tongue 38 (FIG. 9) one end of which is in line with an aperture 39. In order to connect a high-voltage conductor to a bus bar, it is only necessary to insert an exposed conductor end through an aperture 39 and compress the locking tongue 38 until its tip wedges the conductor into contact with the bus bar. Each aperture 39 has an adjacent aperture 41 through which a screw driver may be inserted to compress the locking tongue and release the conductor.

FIG. illustrates a plug-in relay which has been developed for use in this invention in conjunction with the bus bars 33 and 34. This relay is not claimed as part of the present invention but is claimed in Soscia application, Serial No. 177,845, now Patent Number 3,118,039, which was filed of even date herewith. The plu'g-in relay is equipped with a pair of spring-biased contacts 42 in which the bus bars 33 and 34 seat when the low-voltage end of the relay is inserted through an aperture left by removal of one of the knockouts 19 and the relay is pressed in position. Since these relays also have a pair of spring locking terminals 43 and 44 after the manner of Benander Patent No. 2,705,785, it is possible to replace a defective relay safely, quickly, and easily. The steps consist of releasing the low-voltage connections of the relay, pulling the relay from the bus bars, releasing the wires connecting the relay to the load, and reversing the process just described in connecting a new relay. The relays are de signed so as to avoid any possibility of a misalignment.

For example, a spur member 45 on the relay prevents the relay from being mounted on the bus bars unless the spur member extends away from the mounting bracket 11.

While the mounting bracket of this invention is designed particularly for use in conjunction with a plug-in relay as illustrated in FIG. 10, conventional relays may be used. In this event, the bus bars must be removed and the relays mounted in the conventional manner by means of the snap springs 47 on the relay barrel illustrated in FIG. 10. It is likewise not necessary that each switch box have only a single high-voltage and low-voltage compartment. The illustration of FIGS. 3 and 4 shows a box having two high-voltage compartments and one low-volt- In this illustration the box includes a transformer 48 which reduces line voltage on the high-voltage side of 4. the 24-volt level on the low-voltage side. While the mounting bracket 11 for the transformer 48 is altered slightly from that designed for relays, the modification is minor and still have a configuration within the scope of this invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, these embodiments have been illustrative rather than limiting. Accordingly, the invention should be limited in scope only as may be necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a remote control wiring system switch box having at least front and back walls, a relay mounting bracket comprising a sheet metal partition dividing the box into at least one high-voltage compartment and one lowvoltage compartment completely isolated from each other, said partition being bent into at least three lengthwise sections across the box with the center section having a slanted surface with respect to the front and back walls of the box, the lengthwise sections adjacent to the center section being substantially parallel, the center section having a plurality of apertures of a size to provide snug passage to the low-voltage end of a remote control relay and being otherwise imperforate, a terminal board comprised of insulating material disposed on the low-voltage side of said bracket, and a pair of bus bars positioned in parallel spaced relation on said center section on the highvoltage side of said bracket, said bus bars adapted to be connected to power leads and also to relays mounted on said center section. 2. A switch box with a relay mounting bracket as claimed in claim 1 wherein contact between the power leads and the bus bars is maintained by spring locking tongues.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,839,348 l/32 Shaw 336-67 X 2,014,442 9/35 Miller 17452 X 2,359,186 9/44 Zelt 174-52 X 2,662,109 12/53 Tapp et al 17452 2,705,785 4/55 Benander 339- 2,588,082 3/57 Brown et al.

2,870,424 1/59 Franz 339--l28 X 2,983,894 5/61 Lawson et al 339258 X FOREIGN PATENTS 751,675 7/56 Great Britain. 1,236,326 6/60 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Electrical Mfg, October 1957, page 222.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner.

JOHN P, WILDMAN, E. JAMES SAX, Examiners. 

1. IN A REMOTE CONTROL WIRING SYSTEM SWITCH BOX HAVING AT LEAST FRONT AND BACK WALLS, A RELAY MOUNTING BRACKET COMPRISING A SHEET METAL PARTITION DIVIDING THE BOX INTO AT LEAST ONE HIGH-VOLTAGE COMPARTMENT AND ONE LOWVOLTAGE COMPARTMENT COMPLETELY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER, SAID PARTITION BEING BENT INTO AT LEAST THREE LENGTHWISE SECTION ACROSS THE BOX WITH THE CENTER SECTION HAVING A SLANTED SURFACE WITH RESPECT TO THE FRONT AND BACK WALLS OF THE BOX, THE LENGTHWISE SECTIONS ADJACENT TO THE CENTER SECTION BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL, THE CENTER SECTION HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES OF A SIZE TO PROVIDE SNUG PASSAGE TO THE LOW-VOLTAGE END OF A REMOTE CONTROL RELAY AND BEING OTHERWISE IMPERFORATE, A TEMINAL BOARD COMPRISED OF INSULATING MATERIAL DISPOSED ON THE LOW-VOLTAGE SIDE OF SAID BRACKET, AND A PAIR OF BUS BARS POSITIONED IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION ON SAID CENTER SECTION ON THE HIGHVOLTAGE SIDE OF SAID BRACKET, SAID BUS BARS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO POWER LEADS AND ALSO TO RELAYS MOUNTED ON SAID CENTER SECTION. 